Tips for the perfect pout: lip care and colour
Believe in Beautiful Blog
Your lips work hard. They’re out in the sun, wind and air conditioning all day, and the skin on them is thinner than the rest of your face. A little care goes a long way, and healthy lips make every lip colour look better.
Here are our top tips for soft, smooth lips, choosing a shade that suits you and getting colour that lasts.
Step 1: keep your lips hydrated
Lips don’t have oil glands like the rest of your skin, so they can dry out quickly. To keep them soft:
- Apply lip balm often, especially before bed and after eating or drinking.
- Drink water through the day. Dehydration often shows on your lips first.
- Try not to lick your lips. It feels soothing for a second but can leave them drier.
- Be mindful of long-wear and matte formulas, which can feel drying. Apply balm underneath or between wears.
Step 2: protect them from the sun
It’s easy to forget your lips when you apply sunscreen, but they need protection too. Choose a lip balm with SPF and reapply it through the day, particularly when you’re outdoors, swimming or exercising. This matters even more if you have lip blush, because sun exposure can make the colour fade faster.
Step 3: exfoliate gently
A gentle exfoliation once a week helps remove flaky skin so lipstick goes on smoothly. Rub your lips softly with a damp, soft washcloth in small circles, then follow with balm. Skip it if your lips are cracked, sore or sunburnt, and never scrub hard. The skin here is delicate.
Choosing a lip colour for your undertone
The easiest way to find shades that flatter you is to work out your skin’s undertone. A few quick checks:
- Look at the veins on your wrist in natural light. Bluish or purple veins suggest a cool undertone, greenish veins suggest warm, and a mix suggests neutral.
- Think about jewellery. If silver tends to suit you best, you may be cool. If gold flatters you more, you may be warm. If both work, you’re probably neutral.
| Undertone | Shades to try |
|---|---|
| Cool | Blue-based pinks, berries, plums and blue-based reds |
| Warm | Corals, peaches, terracotta, brick and orange-based reds |
| Neutral | Most shades, especially dusty rose, mauve and soft reds |
A few more colour tips:
- For an everyday nude, choose a shade close to your natural lip colour or one shade deeper.
- Blue-based reds can make teeth look brighter.
- Use a lip liner that matches your lipstick or natural lip to help define the shape and stop colour bleeding.
- Blot and layer for colour that lasts longer.
Long-lasting colour with lip blush
If you love the look of colour but don’t love reapplying it, lip blush could be for you. It’s a cosmetic tattoo that adds a soft wash of colour to your lips, helping to even out tone and give your lips more definition.
- Free consultation first. Your artist will talk you through shape and shade and make sure it’s right for you.
- Initial visit $600, followed by a perfection visit at 6 to 8 weeks.
- Numbing cream is supplied by our partner Tugun Compounding Pharmacy. Order it ahead through their topical anaesthetics form.
- Results last around 1 to 3 years, depending on your skin and lifestyle.
Your undertone matters here too. Your artist will help you choose a shade that suits your skin and the look you love, whether that’s a barely-there flush or something a little bolder.
Thinking about brows as well? Any two cosmetic tattooing initial visits are $999. For example, Lip Blush ($600) with Powder Brows ($550) would usually be $1,150, so you save $151.
If you’re prone to cold sores, mention it at your consultation. Cosmetic tattooing isn’t recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding. Read everything you need to know in our lip blush guide, or see our full cosmetic tattooing menu.
Tidy the lip line with a lip wax
The finishing touch for a perfect pout is a smooth, hair-free upper lip, so lipstick and liner sit neatly. A lip wax is $25, or pair it with a brow sculpt for $60. New clients save 50% on their first wax. See our current offers.
To keep your lip wax, brows and lashes on schedule, try a Beauty Pass. The Essential pass is $69 a month for $85 of credit to spend on waxing, lashes and brows, IPL, spray tanning or massage, with a 6-month minimum commitment.
Ready to book? Whether it’s a lip wax or a lip blush consultation, book online or visit one of our six Brisbane clinics.
